Car shopping
Apr. 12th, 2008 12:23 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
icepixieSo, seeing as I'm going to be moving to Knoxville in less than four months, I need to get a car sharpish. (Yes, there's public transportation, but I've done the relying-on-a-bus-to-get-groceries thing, and unless you're somewhere like NYC or Chicago, IT DON'T WORK. Plus, driving home for vacations, etc., and, depending on my luck with finding nearby housing, to campus...yeah.)
I...would pretty much be okay if all we had was the modern equivalent of the Model T. No, seriously. This sucks. I have no idea what to buy, I have a relatively small budget, and seriously, all I want is four wheels, an engine that won't break down all the time, and enough steel around me to keep me from being crushed in an accident. All the different brands and models have such minute and arcane differences that do incomprehensible things to the price, and I can't even begin to wrap my mind around it. The only reason I'm not giving up and investing in a bicycle is because my dad is helping me shop, and at this point has probably done more looking than I have. (Also, biking back to Nashville would be a bit difficult.)
I'm looking solely at used cars, because my budget would allow me to get, um...a new tricycle, I think. (Well, okay, if I plunked down the entirety of my savings account, I could actually get something rather nice, but I also, you know, want to eat next year.)
Anyone have any tips? Brands you like? Bad experiences? I'm leaning towards something from Honda or Toyota because the idea of being stranded on the roadside periodically does not appeal (nor does shopping for another car for AT LEAST ten years), but of course that increased reliability and longevity comes with a corresponding increase in price. Sigh.
I...would pretty much be okay if all we had was the modern equivalent of the Model T. No, seriously. This sucks. I have no idea what to buy, I have a relatively small budget, and seriously, all I want is four wheels, an engine that won't break down all the time, and enough steel around me to keep me from being crushed in an accident. All the different brands and models have such minute and arcane differences that do incomprehensible things to the price, and I can't even begin to wrap my mind around it. The only reason I'm not giving up and investing in a bicycle is because my dad is helping me shop, and at this point has probably done more looking than I have. (Also, biking back to Nashville would be a bit difficult.)
I'm looking solely at used cars, because my budget would allow me to get, um...a new tricycle, I think. (Well, okay, if I plunked down the entirety of my savings account, I could actually get something rather nice, but I also, you know, want to eat next year.)
Anyone have any tips? Brands you like? Bad experiences? I'm leaning towards something from Honda or Toyota because the idea of being stranded on the roadside periodically does not appeal (nor does shopping for another car for AT LEAST ten years), but of course that increased reliability and longevity comes with a corresponding increase in price. Sigh.
no subject
Date: 2008-04-13 03:02 am (UTC)Eeeek.
You never know who you're going to end up with neighbors, though, and that's something to keep in mind.
Yeah, I thought about that. Is it entirely students? That's how the website made it sound. (Although, plus side, you didn't have to bring your own roommate.) It sounds like the neighbors would be shifting from year-to-year, and over the sumer as well. I have my tuition covered for the summer because of my TAship, so I'm going to take that opportunity to work on my Spanish so I can pass the proficiency test for my degree. I wonder if I might do better just trying to find a decent roommate on Craigslist--another grad student or young professional, maybe. Or just staying the first year in a single-bedroom somewhere that doesn't look like it has many students...rents are incredibly cheap, it seems.
Something to keep in mind is that UT is, in fact, a party school.
Alas, I have realized this. Then again, once you get over a certain number of students--about the number necessary to have a grad school attached, in fact--it seems like that element can be found in greater or lesser amounts everywhere.
I would love to talk to your friend who still lives in the apartments.
I think two of my three potential classes I'm taking are going to be in HSS, and the other is...somehwere else. I forget where it said on the timetable. And god knows where my section of freshman comp is going to be. :) I don't mind walking, though, and the campus didn't look like anything I couldn't cross in 20 minutes or so.
Re: jobs: Thanks for the offer! That would be nice; unfortunately, the department makes you jump through a lot of hoops before you can get an outside job if you're a TA, and I think there might be some kind of financial need involved as well. It sounds like it would be a strain on time even to add ten or twelve extra hours to the schedule, actually.
I'll look into the Ford Focus. My financing will only work as far back as a 2003 model of any car, though, so I would have to pay more than $6,000, probably. (I would love to just pay for the whole thing at once, but I'm also going to try to use this as a credit-building opportunity, since all the credit record I have is one very limited credit card.) I'm definitely looking at small or mid-sized cars; I for sure don't need a behemoth car anywhere, much less when trying to park on campus.
Yay for necessary stores! I believe I've told you that the only Kroger and Super Wal-Mart I had access to in college were a ten-minute drive away in the next town. This will be novel. ;)